LASI Main Survey

LASI Pilot Study

In 2010-2011, the LASI team conducted a pilot study across four Indian states: Karnataka and Kerala in the south, and Punjab and Rajasthan in the north. Researchers selected these states to capture regional variation in health transitions, socio-economic status, and state of development. Karnataka and Rajasthan were also selected by the Study of Global AGEing and Adult Health (SAGE), thereby allowing for comparison of the data across these states. The target sample for the pilot study was non-institutionalized Indian residents aged 45 and older. Researchers sampled nearly 1500 persons from both urban and rural settings.

Data from the LASI Pilot can be downloaded from the Gateway to Global Aging Data (free site registration required).

LASI National Survey

The first wave of LASI collected data from over 72,000 individuals aged 45 and above and their spouses irrespective of age from 35 of India's 36 states and union territories. These data will provide a much-needed foundation for scientific research and policy-making related to aging in India. Due to its harmonized design with parallel international studies, LASI will contribute to scientific insights and policy development in other countries as well. LASI will ultimately be part of a worldwide effort aimed at understanding how different institutions, cultures, and policies can understand and prepare for population aging. 

The main LASI instrument consists of two main sections: a Household Survey and an Individual Survey. 

Household survey:

  • Household Roster
  • Housing and Environment
  • Consumption
  • Household Assets and Debts
  • Income
  • Health Insurance

Individual Survey:

  • Demographics
  • Family and Social Network
  • Health
  • Health Care Access and Utilization
  • Work and Retirement
  • Individual Assets

In addition to the Household and Individual Surveys, LASI will feature a Community Survey to ask local leaders about community demographics, infrastructure, resources and health policy. 

LASI will employ computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI) techniques to record the responses of survey participants. This method requires field teams to be outfitted with laptop computers, with questions asked of respondents in a face-to-face interview. Field teams will input responses directly into a laptop computer, thereby limiting data entry processes as well as minimizing data recording and entry errors. This portion of the LASI project is funded through a pilot grant from Harvard’s Program on the Global Demography of Aging.

LASI survey tools:

LASI_2017-18_community_questionnaire.pdf528 KB
LASI_2017-18_household_questionnaire.pdf1.88 MB
LASI_2017-18_individual_questionnaire.pdf1.04 MB